Chief Executive Officer of the Petroleum Hub Development Corporation, Dr. Anthony Aubynn, has expressed deep concerns over the involvement of politicians in illegal mining, commonly known as ‘galamsey’.
Speaking on Channel One TV’s The Point of View with Bernard Avle on Monday, April 28, Dr. Aubynn described political interference as a major barrier to effectively tackling the galamsey menace.
He noted that efforts to curb illegal mining are often undermined when individuals in influential political positions are implicated in the practice.
“The worst of it all, and I have said and written about it in 2009, so it’s not a new thing, the worst of it all is the involvement of politicians in this business. It becomes so difficult to resolve when you have politicians, some of whom are in very leading positions, involved. You can’t successfully push them out,” he stated.
Dr. Aubynn pointed to the complexity and deeply rooted nature of illegal mining in Ghana, suggesting that these entrenched interests make meaningful reform extremely difficult.Ghanaian fashion
As an example, he cited former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s public defence of Akonta Mining—a company accused of engaging in illegal mining—despite evidence to the contrary.
“That is how come, I think the former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo at one point in time said Akonta Mining was not doing anything illegal, even though the facts spoke otherwise,” he said.
